@Lota Mota @Vaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley Wow Lota, 60 roses! You must be surrounded by such beauty and fragrance! I totally agree with you. It must feel so nice and to know what makes you and the roses happy. I'm not there yet... I guess as a newbie to gardening, I'm still feeling my path, trying to figure out my own style and how to keep my roses happy. I guess it will come with trial and errors. Currently I'm still in the planning, educating myself, and admiring people's garden stage. So thank you for sharing! I'll keep that in mind!

Just to update, unfortunately, I removed Pope John Paul. I grow organically - no spray - and I'm always trialing roses. PJP was part of my last purchase. It didn't fare well for being trouble free. It was affected with more winter damage than every other rose I have. It had pest issues that other roses did not. 'Beverly', a pink rose, so far has been the winner out of a group of three I bought last. It looks gorgeous so far this season, won't bloom until the beginning of June, but the foliage and the vigor this year are great!

Now I'll have to read this thread over again to find another white rose to try. [g] Sorry for being so enthusiastic too soon. I hope anyone that decided to try it had better luck than I did.

P Allen Smith recommends many roses on his website.

He really likes New Dawn....they're light pink, almost white, and are a climbing rose.

Milwaukee’s Calatrava™ – This hybrid rose with pure white double flowers is one of my favorites and will bloom almost continually from spring to winter. Zones 5-9. Highly fragranced.

Check out his website to find out types and how to care for them. He absolutely LOVES roses.

I have New Dawn and I really like it. VERY healthy and vigorous! Now that I think of it, that is why I bought New Dawn because PAllen Smith had New Dawn on a huge arbor on one of his shows and it was gorgeous! I'll look for info on MCaltrava too, thank you.

When I bought more garden space for roses, in the s.f. bay area ( by the way a house came with it) my first thought was " I'll have the border of the property planted all with white roses and I'll start with:

R. Moschata ( it came into bloom early this year, in May).

Westside Road Cream Tea (

'Alba Semi-Plena'

Boule de Neige

Mme. Alfred Carriere

Nastarana

Mrs. Herbert Stevens cl. a Tea Hybrid

cl. Kaiserin Auguste Viktoria

I received two Iceburgs including cl. Iceberg which is quite shade tolerant and at night it is glorious creating an arching bower of white roses mimicing the stars above.

Thanks for asking,

white roses are my favorite roses.

Lux.

Alberic Barbier today.

Lux, what are your thoughts on Kaiseren Auguste Viktoria, Mrs Herbert Stevens and Westside Road Cream Tea? Your list is making me think I need to squeeze one of them in. Oh and fragrance is at the top of my list of importance.

Sheila, that is gorgeous. I don’t have that one yet. What do you think of the fragrance?

I'll check tomorrow. It is too cold to go back out. 40 F out. I think wonderful.

Geez! It was 73F on my run tonight at 10pm! Lucky you!

Sheila, it feels like it is never going to get warm! The sun was out some today but the air still carries such a chill. Everything is behind but I’ll take it over last year’s heatwave-I definitely don’t want to do that again.

Vap, I gotta say 73 sounds like heaven. Maybe with some warmth I’d finally get some blooms. Although now I’m mostly looking forward to the iris and peonies since the deer ate quite a bit of the roses

It's about to warm up here starting tomorrow and then two days of temps in the 80s this weekend. At least with this cool spring, the bulb display lasted a good long while. Once the 80s come, that should be the end of that. Time for roses here in a couple of weeks!

Sadly, my standard Pope John Paul 2 died a terrible death. Winter, insects or disease ? Who knows. It was only 2 years old. Maybe it would have done better as a shrub. I sure loved the fragrance though.

I planted New Dawn after seeing P Allen Smith's recommendation and the video of the huge bush he had over the arbor. Mine has never looked like that - I keep hoping!

I will surprise nobody I guess, by nominating Iceberg. Here she is bursting into flower AGAIN... I get a flush from her about every two months, all year round, here in z11.

This is her second year here, she has withstood gale-force winds all of last month; salt, sandy winds, heat, you name it, she takes minimal damage, recovers fast and blooms again.

Scent is better in the cooler months, I will admit that in summer she has almost none, but no other rose I have, in any color, comes close to this level of resistance and repeat.

Now she's putting out those two strong new tall stems, so it seems she wants to start putting on size too. I love her.

Bob, I wonder if he had two planted? [g] I've not had an arbor to put mine on, so it's not looked like that either, I have mine on a 4ft fence. I keep thinking I may get an arbor and move it but so far I'm happy with it the way it is and it is healthy and vigorous every season.

I lost all my pics of ND in a hack, but will posit it could be just one rose. They are somewhere on the forum. Mine are humongous and one could easily cover an arbor. I gave a small cutting to a friend and 2 years later, it is also headed toward world domination, competing with Peggy Martin for ultimate size. It requires diligent dead-heading for repeat.

Does it repeat? I didn't realize that. Is it just a question of taking off every spent bloom or do you have to cut them all quickly? I don't usually deadhead it.

Here is a close up of the pale pink almost white New Dawn and the very healthy foliage

and here it is hanging over a 4ft fence with Penelope in the background over the same fence along with Mandarin Orange Honeysuckle.

And btw, this is not full all day sun either. and I never fertilize it. It gets 6 hrs of sun tops and it's growing with 2 other roses and a Honeysuckle and a Clematis on the same fence. [g] So, the amount of blooms and the size are affected by that.

Here's my New Dawn and my arbor - the

plant is around 10 years old.

Close-up of a flower

Oursteelers - I so agree...when is it going to get warm??? But, rats!!! Deer are eating your roses....bummer.

Sheila - what beautiful AB roses!! I love the heart of these roses.

Vaporvac - too hot. So soon!

Kristine - I'm trying to get my PJPII to grow. I've had it for two years...and not much is happening. Do you think you'll get another one?

Seaside - I'm so glad that you have a rose that laughs at your conditions. Now you can be on a search to find more. And, eventually, you will find them. :) :)

Prairiemoon - I love your ND!! I've never seen honeysuckle before...I love yours...so unusual (to me). :) :)

Bob - your roses look so healthy!

Bob, you are lucky to have a nice Arbor to grow your ND on, I hope you will post more photos when it is fully in bloom later.

rosecanadian - That Honeysuckle is a variety of a native and has no fragrance sadly. I just added a new one last fall that is also a variety of a native, called 'Major Wheeler' that is known to attract hummingbirds. I haven't taken any photos yet, because this is it's first season in the garden.

I just wanted to say, that I have a hard time finding vertical spaces to put climbers. And sometimes in my enthusiasm for a plant I've read about or seen a photo of, I buy it before I have a place for it. I've done that multiple times and I ended up planting them in front of a small section of fence 'just to hold them' until I had a permanent place for them. lol And 6 years later, they are all still there, growing together. They are all great plants, but I didn't actually plan to grow them together, they're just waiting. And the colors clash and none of them get to live up to their potential, but, the longer they have been there, the more I look forward to seeing how they are going to grow together each season.

Here are a few more photos of my 'waiting area'.....

Here is a better shot of New Dawn last season... I love the way it drapes. It would be great on an arbor.

Here is one of the other roses there....Penelope. It's a one time bloomer that grows into a huge shrub. It became too large for me and I cut it down to the ground and it refused to die, so I let it keep growing.... Another very healthy vigorous grower in less than full sun.

Here is another shot of the Orange Mandarin Honeysuckle growing with Blue Angel on the gate end of that fence section, Penelope in the background. Not what I'd choose for a color combo.

The third rose in the 'waiting area' - Aloha near the gate

Here is a photo of the whole waiting area. You can see what a small section of fence it is. The roses on the left are Penelope - you can see how small the blooms are in comparision. On the right are Aloha fully open. The New Dawn blooms show up more on the other side of the fence, although there are a few in this photo.

Maybe I should have posted this in a separate thread. It's not really about white roses, but both Penelope and New Dawn do read white while one is a pale apricot and one is a pale pink.

P. Allen Smith on New Dawn

Rosa Korbin is my favorite. Grows best in full sun, medium moisture, slightly acidic garden loams. Tolerates some light shade, but full sun produces the best flowering and disease resistance. Water deeply and frequently (mornings are best). Avoid watering from above.

The Whitest I have Is Olivia Rose. it gets to almost white pretty soon and is a healthy beauty.

Prairie, I love your holding area combo. It looks charming and I think the colors complement each other.

Oursteelers, my nose is malfunctional from allergies regarding Alberic Barbier.

Sheila, allergies are such a pain!

Carol, no I won't try The Pope again. I will stick with Bolero

Bolero is such a healthy rose

My sister has had a Moondance standard for 18 or more years and it is so beautiful and easy care

Classic white rose - John F Kennedy

I have both Kennedy and the Pope….for organic gardening the Pope wins hands down. Between Bolero and the Pope, I’d pick Bolero, although it is a bit more creamy than crisp white

I love roses too! All colors. I just have old pink ones and some red climbers. They're blooming now. In Louisiana. It's been still 80 degrees F at 11 pm for the last 3 nights. And up to the mid 90s in the day already! I think we skipped over spring and went right into summer.

Just gorgeous prairie moon. I just whack my new dawn off after her flush and cut back the laterals for the next flush. However mine is in full sun so I'm not sure if you're blooming much more in shade.

Prairiemoon - I really love the color combination of your lavender clematis and honeysuckle! I'm surprised that your honeysuckle doesn't have fragrance...I thought all honeysuckles have fragrance. :) I love your holding area...your roses seem to love being so close together...talk about vigorous!

Kristine - yes, I wish I could have gotten Bolero this year.

Oursteelers - here's hoping my PJPII gets better.

I do love my Pope—he’s super vigorous and healthy here in SoCal.

Does anybody grow Margaret Merril? I got her on a whim and have been pleased with the fragrance and growth but the flowers seem to blow quickly. Could just be a young plant problem.

Ryan, I've had my Margaret Merril from Roses Unlimited since 2003, and I love her very much. I wouldn't call her a "beast" in terms of the blooms lasting, but she does fine. I do have her in a location that's not full sun all day. She gets very early morning shade and some late afternoon shade.

I got mine as a 1gal as well when I needed a traveling mate for another rose. I’ll probably move her after she grows up a bit if she doesnt like full sun. She’s definitely vigorous but has been flowering a lot so she could give the Pope a run for his title when she’s older.

I just got a bareroot Margaret Merrill...sounds like a great rose.

I love Margaret Merrill. It is one of the most beautiful and fragrant white roses. However, it is extremely winter tender and I have lost it multiple times over the winter, even during years with reliable snow cover. It sure is lovely though!

I used to grow my Margaret Merril in my front yard next to the sidewalk. My front yard is mostly roses, and often walkers will chat about them when I am out there. Some years ago, I decided to move her farther back in the front yard. Shortly after moving her, there was a knock on the front door, and a lady wanted to know what happened to Margaret! Anyway, my point is that someone else besides me loved her a lot :-D

Chris - I'll try to remember to put extra blankets over my Margaret Merrill. Thanks for the heads up.

Susan - I love that!!

Bolero is the most-white that I have. It starts out green/white buds, then shows white petals, fully opening to white on the outside and pink/yellow/apricot in the center. Although not a true white, I can’t recommend it enough. I purchased three…then four more. It is very fragrant. Rosey but sweet. I am also a beginner with roses and they are doing well (kinda just plopped them in the ground and they took off)

Sarah - I just adore your last picture!! My goodness!!

My favorite white is Maria Shriver. Exquisite. Amazing strong fragrance. Exclusive to Edmunds, I believe. Not overly floriferous but enough for me because of her beauty. This was taken at dusk and she was like a beacon of whiteness. Love her.

Another huge fan of Maria Shriver here! Form and fragrance to die for! Too bad she's not better known, and really too bad she's only available from (the new) Edmunds now. I bought my original one way back in the day from (the real) Edmunds, and it's still going strong. Since it's elderly, I got a new one from the current Edmunds (Jungs), was mislabeled, tried again the next year, and now I have a back-up. I also made a cutting of my original one, so now I have three. It's a great rose.

@Artist-FKA-Novice Zone 7B GA I was thinking the exact same thing. Unfortunately I didn't really want a white rose and from what I've read there are much more fragrant white roses to have if one really wants white. For me at this point if there are two similar roses and one has more fragrance, I'd get the more fragrant one. I'm debating whether to remove Olivia because I really wanted something that wasn't white or at least one that had more fragrance.

Olivia Austin Rose:

Snow Drift ( Easy Elegance rose). Bullet proof in my humid black spot prone area. Prolific bloomer, big flushes all summer.

ZONE 10a. Southern California. I found this discussion while looking for a statement piece white rose for the center of my Courtyard. My courtyard is nearly all white blooms as I love having a moon garden effect in the evenings. The spot I have will have full sun mid day through sunset. This spot is a 5ft circle of soil that is surrounded by some pavement. I did not have a photo showing this spot in my phone, but I attached a photo of the entrance to courtyard. I looked at so many options, I am not sure what to try. I love the scent of the "Pope John Paul II" I am considering going with one or two of those in the center if I cannot find a better option. Maybe a floribunda like "Moondance" or "Easy Spirit"?

My favorite white rose is "Sugar Moon" I have three of them and they are delightful in every way for the the first flush, then they produce VERY tall thick canes (6'-7') before giving me additional blooms. Not sure why this happens. I attached a photo of the spring versions of my "Sugar Moon" roses and a Fall version of my "sugar moon" roses. Crazy tall!

My second favorite is "Bolero" The blooms get a bit scorched on hot days even though they only get morning through mid day sun. There is a cinderblock wall behind them that I am sure does not help.

If you live near Otto, I picked up a ‘Jardin de Bagatelle’ is also a great white. It looks more cream in their pictures but mine is pure white. It’s very healthy and has a great fragrance. I have Pope John Paul, Bolero, Top Cream and Margaret Merril. They all have their strengths but I’d put Jardin in the middle of the pack there. It’s an option that isn’t as well known but since you live in SoCal it’ll be at Otto’s.

https://ottoandsonsnursery.com/product/jardins-de-bagatelle/

White O’Hara & Mme Anisette! Could not choose between the two. Mme Anisette has a licorice fragrance! White O’Hara has oink centers, big plus blooms and fragrances a whole room!

White 0’Hara , Best for bouquets!

Mme Anisette great in bouquets, too! Tons of blooms, very strong fragrance, tall bush. It can be 7 ft but I cut it back! The abundance of blooms is amazing!

Bolero is an amazing ever bloomer! I have 2 Boleros-great for landscaping beauty!

Ryan, I also love Jardins de Bagatelle!

@Laury - Some things to keep in mind in a courtyard are the size of the plant and the thorniness. In a high visibility location such as an entry courtyard, you might want something that blooms as constantly as possible. Also look at what does well in your climate. Iceberg does very well in Southern California, blooms a lot, is not huge, and is not terribly thorny. It is quite fragrant to my nose. Bolero is modest in size, blooms a lot, is fragrant and is quite thorny.

I think you mentioned that you wanted a statement piece. As such, I could imagine Madame Alfred Carriere trained on a structure like at the Getty museum, to be living sculpture. MAC is white, nearly thornless, blooms a lot, wonderful fragrance.

But personally, in your climate, I’d choose a white Brugmansia for a statement piece in a courtyard. It’s a dramatic plant, huge white fragrant flowers perfect for a moon garden, long blooming, no thorns, little maintenance. It’s definitely an attention getter.